1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for locating stolen property, and more particularly to locating a stolen electronic device, such as a computer, using the automatic number identification capabilities of a communication network.
2. Description of Related Art
Personal computers have become increasingly compact and portable and now commonly accompany business travelers into a variety of unprotected, public places. As a result, these items have become a favorite target for thieves. Portable computers, such as notebook and laptop computers, are commonly stolen in public places such as airports.
Many computers, especially portable computers, are equipped with modems for remote communication. These modems allow the user access to services such as remote connections to office networks and the Internet. In addition, the modems allow the user to transmit and receive facsimiles.
At least one prior art computer tracking system for locating stolen computers exists. A user desiring to use this system first installs a software program on his computer. The software program instructs the computer to call a third party monitoring service at regular intervals. When the computer calls the monitoring service, the computer establishes a data link and transmits data to the monitoring service that identifies the computer. When the monitoring service receives a call from the user's computer, the monitoring service is able to determine the location of the computer by utilizing Caller ID. The location of the computer may then be forwarded to a law enforcement agency so that they may retrieve the computer. However, such a tracking system is not optimal because it requires a third party monitoring service. This monitoring service charges a fee for monitoring. In addition, the system is not optimal because the system incurs long distance charges that result from the periodic phone calls to the monitoring service. (Even if 1-800 numbers are used, the charges are still indirectly paid by a user subscribing to the monitoring service.) The presence of such long distance phone charges may also alert a thief to the monitoring, thus reducing the effectiveness of the tracking system.
Thus, there is a need for a stolen computer tracking system that does not require long distance phone calls be placed from the computer, thus minimizing the cost for the computer owner and reducing the likelihood that a thief will become aware of the monitoring.